The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant known by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 and botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima. 
xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating new poinsettia cultivars with red bract color, dark-green foliage, good branching characteristics and early flowering response. xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 was originated from a hybridization made in a controlled breeding program in Hillscheid, Germany, in 1993.
The female parent was a proprietary, hybrid seedling, No. S90-502-1, characterized by red bract color, dark-green foliage and early flowering. The male parent was a hybrid seedling, no. S90-202-1, with light-red bracts and medium-green foliage. xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 was discovered and selected as one flowering plant (no. 2299) within the progeny of the stated parentage by Katharina Zerr in the autumn of 1994 in a controlled environment in Hillscheid, Germany.
The seeds from the hybridization made in February 1994, and the seedlings therefrom, were identified by numbers. In the summer of 1994, a cutting was taken from each seedling and grown as a flowering, single-stem plant for examination and selection in the autumn. After plant no. 2299 had been chosen, more cuttings were taken from the original seedling and grafted on rootstocks of variety xe2x80x98Beckmanns Altrosaxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,336) in order to transmit the phytoplasma suspected of causing branching. The cuttings used were new shoot tips (short stem with 3-4 mature leaves) from the upper area of the plant taken from branches emerging from the main stem higher than the place of grafting. From cuttings of these grafted plants, branched plants were grown for the trial cultivation (horticutural examination) in autumn and winter of 1995 to 1996. Horticultural examination initiated in autumn of 1995 and continuing thereafter has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 which in combination distinguish this Poinsettia as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Bright red bract color;
2. Relatively large, slightly reflexed involucre formed by ovate and somewhat folded bracts;
3. Dark-green foliage, narrow ovately shaped and with only very weak lobes;
4. Very early flowering response; and
5. Vigorous growth, in combination with medium to tall, upright plant habit.
xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, and daylength without a change in genotype. The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
Of the many commercial varieties known to the inventor, the most similar in comparison to xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 is the patented cultivar xe2x80x98Freedom Redxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,825). In comparison to xe2x80x98Freedom Redxe2x80x99, xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 has more intense and brighter red-colored bracts, which do not tend to fade at high temperature. Bracts and leaves of xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 develop hardly any lobes in contrast to xe2x80x98Freedom Redxe2x80x99 which is moderately lobed. Furthermore, the plant habit of xe2x80x98Fismillexe2x80x99 is usually somewhat taller, but narrower, than xe2x80x98Freedom Redxe2x80x99 and flowering begins even earlier.